Light-transmitting building construction



April 18, 1939. 1.. LOGAN LIGHT TRANSMITTING BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FiledMarch 7, 1936 .L EZEIILZ L a an Sump Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE Leland Logan, Plattsburgh, N. Y.

Application March I.

' 2 Claims.

This invention relates to transparent and translucent building unitssuch as blocks, bricks or tiles, of glass, synthetic and natural resins,etc., and it has for its main object to provide one or more of the facesof such .unit which ordinarily would absorb light or transmit it indirections in which its utility would be lost, with a light-reflectingor mirror surface or surfaces, capable of reflecting the light whichstrikes said surfaces angularly, back in the direction of the usefulbeam, thus enhancing. the illuminative capacity of the brick.

Another object of the invention is to provide a translucent buildingunit of the class described either solid or hollow and having one ormore of the surfaces thereof coated with a light-reflective fllm.

A further object of the invention is to provide transparent ortranslucent building units having reflective plates intercalated betweenadjacent units in the mortar or other building material courses wherebyto render the faces contacted by said plates light-reflective.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hollow transparentor translucent buildin unit with an insertable metallic reflectivelining adapted to cover one or more of the interior walls of said block.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof several illustrative embodiments thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the followingspecification and throughout the several figures of which the samecharacters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a building unit embodying the principles ofthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a front or back elevation;

Figure 3 is a modified formof building unit light-transmitting in alongitudinal direction and having reflective longitudinal faces;

Figure 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3; I

Figure 5 is a vertical section through a hollow transparent ortranslucent block having reflective surfaces on two opposite interiorend walls; Figure 6 is a similar type of block having the reflectivesurfaces von the outer opposite end ,walls; I

Figure 7 shows a vertical section of a wall built of transparent ortranslucent units havin reflective plates in the bonding materialcourses: Figure 8 is a perspective view of a suggested form of plate;

1936. Serial No. .67.!19 I (Cl. sa-ao) One of the recent achievements inthe building industry is the perfection of a glass unit which may takethe form of a block, brick or tile and used for general structuralpurposes. For example, a factory can be flooded with daylight if builtwith translucent walls, decorative effects formerly undreamed of can beobtained in residences by making parts of the walls translucent ortransparent and controlled air conditioning accomplished in windowlesshouses having walls, in whole or in part transparent.

It is obvious that such structures in which these transparent ortranslucent blocks, bricks or tiles are employed are lighted by daylighttransmitted through the units from front to back. This makes availableonly part of the illumination, for such light as strikes the top andbottom or ends of the block is either absorbed in the mortar jointsbetween the units or transmitted in directions in which its luminosityis wasted.

The present invention has in contemplation the combination in or inassociation with a transparent or translucent unit as described, of oneor more light-reflective walls or faces whereby the light whichordinarily is lost is reflected into the building in the direction ofthe useful transmitted beam.

Referring now to that form of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2, aglass parallelepipedal block I is shown having the front and back faces2 and 3 left transparent or translucent, but being coated on its otherfour faces 4, 5, 6 and I with a film or layer 8 of light-reflectivematerial such, for example, as an alloy of quicksilver. Figure 1 showssuch blocks built into a wall with the bonding material H and I2 betweenadjacent silvered faces of adjoining blocks. Ordinarily, the bondingmaterial wouldconstitute an obstruction absorbing the light angularlyreceived by the end faces of the block, but Figure 1 shows by the arrowsl3 and N that the incident light rays impinging upon the-end walls ofthe block are reflected forward into the room or space enclosed by thewall. It is not essential that as many as four faces be coated with thesilvering for any lesser number of faces may be so lined, according tothe degree of illuminative improvement which may be desired.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a form of the inven tion in which the blockis designed to be arranged with its longitudinal dimension transversewith respect to the wall so that the transmitted light passes lengthwisethrough the block. In this instance the four elongated faces are coveredwith the silvered coating as shown at I5 and light impinging angularlyagainst one of the silvered surfaces, as indicated by the zigzag arrowIS in FlgureB, is reflected back to the opposite surface and thencethrough the inner end of the block.

In those forms of the invention illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, thetransparent or translucent block is hollow and the reflective surfacesmay be applied either to the inner or outer walls of said block. Figure5 shows a hollow block .Il having silvered surfaces at the oppositeinner ends. These surfaces l8 may be applied in the form of a film, orthey may be rigid metallic plates, chromium plated, for example, andcemented in place against the end walls of the block. Figure 6 shows asimilar block H, but in this instance the reflective surfaces l8 whichmay be either films or plates are applied to the outer end walls of theblock.

Figure 7 shows a portion of a wall built up of transparent ortranslucent blocks l9 which may be either solid or hollow and betweenwhich plates 20 are placed in the bonded courses. These plates arepreferably of metal and may be chromium plated on both sides orotherwise made capable of efliciently reflecting light. Figure 8 shows asuggestive construction for these plates. They may be formed of sheets,the length and width dimensions of which are slightly smaller than thesimilar dimensions of the faces of the blocks between which they are tobe placed and provided along their edges with projecting lugs 2|. Whenthe plate 20 is positioned between adjacent blocks, the bottom lugs 2!may rest in the fresh bonding material bed on the layer of blocks below,and bonding material may be used to point up the shallow crack betweenthe blocks and along the remaining three edges of the plates. The lugswill embed in the bonding material and hold everything secure.

In that form of the invention shown in Figure 9 the hollow block I l isprovided with a four-sided mirror surface.

metallic liner ll havlng its inner surface plated or otherwise madebright and inserted into the hollow of the block I! either freely, orfixed by means of a suitable cement.

In that form of the invention shown in Figure 10, five sides of theblock have been covered with the light-reflecting him, only the frontside, that is to say, the side which faces the interior of the roombeing left transparent or translucent. Such a block is notlight-transmitting and therefore, does not receive its illumination fromoutside, but under artificial illumination in a room, its reflectivesurfaces scintillate with reflected images of the interior source ofillumination and refiect these back into the room materially lightingthe room and producing startling decorative effects.

It will be understood from the above description that my invention isnot to be considered exhausted by the several embodiments in which ithas been illustrated, but that it consists primarily in thebroad conceptof combining lightreflecting or mirror surfaces with the transparent ortranslucent faces of a transparent or translucent block and onlysecondarily in the specific structures by means of which the inventionis physically embodied, and is not confined to the shapes described andillustrated herewith.

What I claim is: a

1. Hollow block of light-transmitting substance having at least alight-transmitting face, a parallelepipedal recess therein, and aninserted liner comprising a rigid folded sheet member coincident withcertain of the interior faces of said recess which are perpendicular tosaid lighttransmitting face, said liner having its interior sideprovided with a mirror surface.

2. Hollow block having at least one light-transmitting face, said blockhaving a parallelepipedal recess, the sides of which are parallel withthe outer sides of said block, and an inserted liner comprising anendless folded sheet insert fitting said recess and coinciding withthose parallel faces of said recess which are perpendicular to the saidlight-transmitting face of said block, said liner having its interiorside formed with. a

LELAND room.

